Botany
Erect, shrubby, branched, fleshy, cactus-like plant growing to 2-4 meters.
Trunk and older branches are grayinsh and cylindric; medium branches
slightly twisted and stout, fleshy, 4- or 5-angled or winged. Leavers
are fleshy, oblong-obovate, 5 to 15 cm long; in young plants, longer
pointed or blunt at the tip.. Stems are spiny. Flowers are solitary
and short, yellow or green.
Distribution
Cultivated in gardens
as a hedge plant.
Constituents
Studies have yielded euphorbon, resin, gun caoutchouc, malate of calcium,
among others.
Phytochemical studies have yielded triterpenes like nerifolione, cycloartenol, euphol, euphorbiol, nerifoliene, taraxerol, b-amyrin among others.
Properties
Considered purgative, rubefacient,
expectorant.
Leaves considered diuretic.
Latex considered purgative, diuretic, vermifuge and antiasthma.
Studies have reported cytotoxic, antiarthritic, anti-inflammatory, wound healing and immunomodulatory properties.
Parts
used
Leaves, roots and
latex.
Uses
Folkloric
Roots have been used for
snake bites.
Fluid from roasted leaves used for earache.
The milky juice used for asthma, cough, earahce. Also, used as an insecticide.
Externally, applied to sores, cysts, warts, and calluses.
Juice mixed with tumeric powder used for hemorrhoids.
By mouth, it is a drastic purgative.
For internal use: decoction or infusion of 10 grams for 1 liter of water,
2-3 cups daily.
Juice of leaves used for spasmodic asthma.
In India, used for bronchitis, tumors, leukoderma, piles, inflammation, fever, earaches, anemia and ulcers.
In Malaya, used for earache.
In French Guiana, leaves
are heated, squeezed, and the salted sap used for wheezing in babies,
colds and stomach upsets. Also used for infected nails, fevers, coughs
and diabetes in NW Guyana.
source
In Ayurveda, whole plant, leaf and roots used for abdominal complaints, bronchitis, tumors, splenic enlargement, coughs and colds.
Studies
• Anesthetic Activity: Both the alcoholic and aqueous extracts from the fresh stem of E nerifolia revealed significant anesthetic activity on intradermal wheal in guinea-pig and foot-withdrawal reflex in frog.
• Radioprotective / Cytotoxic: Study isolated Euphol from the triterpenoidal sapogenin fraction of E nerifolia leaf which exerted moderate antioxidant activity with highly significant reduction of gamma radiation-induced chromosomal aberrations. It also showed cytotoxic activity on melanoma cell lines. Results provide scientific basis for claimed anticarcinogenic use.
• Wound Healing: In a research for wound healing drugs, E nerifolia was one of the Ayurvedic medicinal plantsfrom Ayurvedic medicinal plants found to be effective in animal models.
• Triterpene: Study isolated a new triterpene from the leaves and stems of Euphorbia nerifolia – glut-5(10)-en-1-one.
• Antifungal: Study on the antifungal activity of ethanolic extracts of medicinal plants against Fusarium oxysporum showed various extracts with inhibition of mycelial growth. However, the bark of E nerifolia exhibited absolute toxicity against the test fungus.
Availability
Wild-crafted.
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